Short answer: NO. You can leave the reading if you only want direct testimonials. One of the latest tourism trips I did with my wife before COVID was to Lisbon and several other nice cities around this part of Portugal. We bought several amazing gifts made from cork. Portugal is one of the first producersContinue reading “Have I learned anything else about cork?”
Category Archives: playground
A small talk about mixers for wet pour rubber flooring
The machine to create the appropriate state of the mix of rubber and polyurethane is one of the main investments a safety surfacing installer needs to do to ensure good quality jobs. It’s important in terms of final results you can achieve and efficiency but also is one of the most expensive tools you willContinue reading “A small talk about mixers for wet pour rubber flooring”
The fight against microplastics
Microplastics have been released into aquatic environment in very large quantities since large-scale production and use of plastics began in the 1950s. Consequently, they have been observed in freshwater bodies and throughout the global ocean, in water, sediments and biota. This raises the question of whether there are potential negative effects on aquatic organisms, sufficientContinue reading “The fight against microplastics”
Bio-based Polyurethanes?
As you already know I am not a Chemist, but I am lucky enough to have at CONICA a team of colleagues that are some of the best ones, they are able to develop any product for flooring applications that you can request us. A few days ago, the world celebrated the 50th Anniversary ofContinue reading “Bio-based Polyurethanes?”
Long life with Top Coat Sealers
After a few years of installing a wet pour rubber flooring, some EPDM or coated SBR colours may have lost vividness and wear and tear may be visible with some granules crumbling due to loss of binder on the upper part of the top surface. If the budget does not allow the re topping orContinue reading “Long life with Top Coat Sealers”
Training about rubber surfacing through Zoom webinars
After many years doing a face to face monthly training to installers from all over the world about wet pour rubber surfacing I really miss these sessions lasting two or three days, ending with a nice dinner with all participants in a good restaurant and then a humble diploma ceremony. I must confess that whatContinue reading “Training about rubber surfacing through Zoom webinars”
Bonded Rubber Mulch
In almost all my posts in this blog I talk about safety flooring solutions for playgrounds and leisure applications in which the top layer is made of EPDM or TPV granules. In only a few occasions have I mentioned other alternatives based on recycled products or derived from organic or natural products. Last week IContinue reading “Bonded Rubber Mulch”
Rubber wetpour requires very little maintenance but that does not mean doing absolutely nothing
One of the great advantages of wetpour rubber flooring is its reduced maintenance requirements, when compared to other types of safety flooring such as loose elements or tiles, but I am afraid that some owners or operators take that idea too much to the extreme, based on the appearance of some areas I’ve visited. AtContinue reading “Rubber wetpour requires very little maintenance but that does not mean doing absolutely nothing”
Raw materials shortages on the Rubber Flooring Business
Well, I have already received my first shot of COVID-19 vaccine and everything has been easy and without incidents, so you have not had any luck, I will continue writing articles on my blog. This pandemic has had a major impact on the exchange of goods throughout the world and a lot of manufacturing facilitiesContinue reading “Raw materials shortages on the Rubber Flooring Business”
Wetpour for playgrounds or fitness areas. Paver machine or hand work?
As I have been summoned to take the first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, I have thought that I better advance my periodic article on the blog. In case any of those incidents that they call “suspected adverse event to the use of the COVID vaccine” occur to me, I will have already advanced theContinue reading “Wetpour for playgrounds or fitness areas. Paver machine or hand work?”
Cushion layer with rubber buffings or granules?
The cushion or shock absorption effect to protect children fall in Playgrounds pour-in-place surfacing is provided by the base layer that is applied underneath the wearing layer, in different thicknesses depending on the project Critical Fall Height (CFH) requirements of the Play equipment. One of the most common materials used for this base layer isContinue reading “Cushion layer with rubber buffings or granules?”
Smoothing top layer with heat rollers or heat pavers
To obtain a beautiful visual finish, the continuous rubber flooring installer spends most of his working time, on his knees, smoothing the top layer or wear layer granules with the trowel. Example of common tools from the Flexotop assortment at KOMPAN A/S It is hard work and I recognise that the brief periods of timeContinue reading “Smoothing top layer with heat rollers or heat pavers”
We work hard for soft landings
In my previous post in this blog, I mentioned that I was preparing a webinar for our LATAM and Spanish speaking customers, about safety flooring at Playgrounds. You can register on the link below. I also talked about my personal experience with the safety of the playgrounds of my childhood in the early 60s. IContinue reading “We work hard for soft landings”
Safety in playgrounds
While we were talking about the preparation of the contents for an upcoming CONICA webinar on safety flooring for playgrounds that we will announce soon to our installers or potential customers in Latin America, my colleague and Sales Manager for this market mentioned the positive historical evolution of safety in playgrounds. The usual playground fromContinue reading “Safety in playgrounds”
About Critical Fall Height on playground safety surfacing
Frequently, the clients ask us for the certificate of critical fall height and thickness of safety surfacing for playgrounds made on samples with our materials. As I have repeated it many times to different clients, I have thought that I better explain here some relevant information about this issue. In the future to those whoContinue reading “About Critical Fall Height on playground safety surfacing”
The clues to know if you are in front of a really good rubber wet pour installer
You can disagree about my views, but I believe I can tell apart a good rubber wet pour installer in a few minutes interview with just a list of questions. Of course, I also like to hear some market references and see some of their recent and old jobs or see how they work onContinue reading “The clues to know if you are in front of a really good rubber wet pour installer”
The most common quality complaints of rubber wet pour flooring
During the last 10 years of dedication to the playground business and more specifically on safety surfacing, I have had the opportunity to see projects made by my own crews or subcontractors and a lot of others carried out by our competitors. A lot of them were beautiful, almost works of art with an amazingContinue reading “The most common quality complaints of rubber wet pour flooring”
About granule size distribution on wet pour rubber surfacing
The top layer of the safety flooring for playgrounds is currently made of different materials, mainly EPDM, TPV, coated SBR and more recently Cork. The granule size distribution is key to achieve a nice visual finish. These materials are also used in the latest generations of artificial grass pitches as infill padding that provides theContinue reading “About granule size distribution on wet pour rubber surfacing”
How will the year of the Ox be for our rubber flooring business?
In the Chinese lunar way, 2021 is a year of the Ox, starting from February 12th, 2021 and lasting until January 30th, 2022. The recent zodiac years of Ox sign are: 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997 and 2009 and after 2021 the next one will be, 2033. An Ox year occurs every 12 years. For moreContinue reading “How will the year of the Ox be for our rubber flooring business?”
Is your polyurethane binder the love of your life?
It has been a decade since I started working in the rubber wet pour safety flooring business. During this time, I have been able to visit a few hundred construction sites all over the world and meet several hundred wet pour flooring installers on various countries and even different continents. Some of them would ratherContinue reading “Is your polyurethane binder the love of your life?”
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